The following is a summary of “Questionnaire-based study of COVID-19 vaccination induced headache: evidence of clusters of adverse events,” published in the March 2024 issue of Neurology by Zhou et al.

Headaches are frequent after Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, ranking #3 in reported side effects. This study explores their link to other issues after vaccination.

Researchers started a retrospective study investigating the potential association between headaches, COVID-19 vaccination, and other adverse events.

They undertook a study based on a questionnaire survey involving 1,402 healthcare workers. The study centered around 5 questions, incorporating 12 AEs and headaches reported after the initial and subsequent COVID-19 vaccinations. Participants rated severity using a scale of “Not at all” (N), “Little” (L), “Average” (A), “Quite” (Q), and “Very” (V). The Bowker test was utilized to compare headache severity between vaccinations on a 5-point Likert scale. Ordinal logistic regression was employed to examine the association between headache severity (dependent variable) and the ratings of the 12 AEs (independent variable). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to assess the predictive value of AE ratings for headache severity.

The results showed that participants reported increased severity of headaches following the second vaccination. Headache symptoms were associated with fatigue, flu-like symptoms, pain at the injection site, a known tension-type headache, fever, dizziness/balance problems, and a known migraine.

Investigators concluded that clusters of headache-associated adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, suggesting potential shared mechanisms underlying these co-occurring effects.

Source: bmcneurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12883-024-03583-6